


The Cotswolds Pub Stop

by thisismybrainrain



Series: centuries of brooding and blood [22]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Carmilla (Web Series)
Genre: Brotp, F/F, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 18:24:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5637187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisismybrainrain/pseuds/thisismybrainrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Faith and Carmilla go out for drinks in the English countryside and encounter an Underelf</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Cotswolds Pub Stop

**Author's Note:**

  * For [skeletonannie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/skeletonannie/gifts).



Of the wide world I stand alone, and think  
Till love and fame to nothingness do sink

– ‘When I Have Fears That I May Cease To Be’ by John Keats.

 

The glasses were stacked in a neat row in their booth. It was late. Faith was swirling whiskey around in the bottom of her glass. The ice clinked against the side. The table was sticky with the residue of their night so far. The bell at the bar rung out for the last call. A gruff voice shouted, ‘Last orders at the bar please.’

The gentle chatter and shuffle of punters scuffed at the edges of the thought spirals that Carmilla and Faith were both in tonight. Between them they’d got through a bottle of whiskey and a few local ales.

Carmilla looked up and asked, ‘do you ever miss before when you didn’t have a duty to fulfil?’ Faith knocked back the last of her drink and answered quickly, ‘Sometimes, kid. Sometimes.’

Giles had assured them that the walk back to the house in the hills was not too bad. There were sparsely placed streetlamps in this part of the Cotswolds. They’d all made the trip over for Giles’s birthday. It was the big 60 but with the serums and spells Laf and Willow had concocted after they’d thought Giles was actually going to die, he did not care for the number. After all of the battle moons, he longed for the grass of home. So here they all were. Away from Vienna and settled in England for a while. They’d left the Vienna apartments in the capable hands of the Iranian vampire girl, her boyfriend and Spike. All was well. They deserved a little break. It was simple right?

Wrong. Faith felt a thwack to the back of her head, ‘what the fu-?’ she said, falling to the floor. There stood an Elfin like creature on the top of a garden wall, cackling softly a large club in his hand. He was far from a Lord of the Rings style Elf that Laura had told Carmilla about. She recognized the Elf from one of Maman’s old books. The Underelfs were back, apparently. The creature stuck its tongue out and smoked away. Carmilla sighed, pulling Faith onto her back, fireman style. They too disappeared into a cloud of black.

Once back in the living room, Laura rushed in, ‘Carm!,’ she shouted. Her gaze fell to Faith on the sofa, ‘Holy fuck, I mean, Hogwarts. What happened to her?’

‘An Underelf happened,’ Carmilla said.

Laura frowned, reaching for Carmilla's hand, 'Carm, A what now?'. Giles walked into the room, holding a thick book reading, ‘Underelf. A small Elfin creature. A minion of the Most Hon. Jon Ethan Underelf. Enjoys inflicting havoc on innocents; longs for the mouths of hell; dines on cats, dogs and sometimes rabbits. Oh, and Laura, go get Buffy, please, she’ll want to know about this,’ He said motioning to Faith with his glasses. Laura nodded and left to find Buffy.

Carmilla reached into her jacket and pulled out a lens cloth, ‘Here you go Ripper, clean away.’ she said. Smiling, he said, ‘Many thanks, darling girl. Rough night?’

‘A bottle of Whiskey and some ales yes. Rough for F, maybe,’ she winked.

 

He handed the red cloth back to her and said, ‘Ah the merits of Slayer healing. She’s going to be fine, darling.’

 

‘I know. We came here for a rest,’ Carmilla huffed lightly. Giles moved and squeezed her shoulder and said, ‘It’s the English countryside, darling. Always something lurking somewhere.’

 

‘Ripper, this isn’t an episode of Midsummer murders. It’s real life and I want to have a nice rest with Laura.’ Carmilla said, jutting her bottom lip out slightly.

 

‘Darling, there’s time, endless time. Commitments are what they are. I’m sorry to say, the fight does not stop for anyone you know that,’ Giles added.

 

‘Not even for lovers like Hollis and me, huh?’ Carmilla asked looking towards the window where the moon was halved tonight.

 

‘Not even for Laura and you, sweetheart, come on, let’s find Faith something to wake her up.’ Giles moved to the kitchen. There was a grumbling from the sofa, ‘hey assholes, I’ve been awake this whole time, all of the mushy talk made me feel worse, so I thought I’d fake a nap.’

 

Buffy walked in talking to Laura, ‘see I told you that she’d be playing you. How are you, F?’ Buffy asked, Faith grinned wide, ‘five by five, babe. Could do with a real nap with though.’

 

Buffy rolled her eyes, smiling, ‘Come on asshole. Let’s get you to bed.’

**Author's Note:**

> I made up the underelf creature as I was writing. It is not meant to bear any similarity to any other fictional character of the same name.
> 
> thank you to the creators of these characters  
> they mean so much
> 
> thank you, cole.


End file.
